Bangladesh
Cheque Dishonour Case Imprisonment in cheque dishonour case is unconstitutional: Full verdict released
Own Correspondent, Dhaka, Oct 19: Sending a person to prison in a cheque dishonour case is against Article 32 of the Constitution, the full judgment of the High Court has been published.
The 54-page verdict was published on the website of the Supreme Court on Tuesday (18 October) after the signature of Justice Md. Ashraful Kamal.
Earlier on August 28, the High Court observed that sending a person to jail in the cheque dishonour case is against Article 32 of the Constitution.
In the verdict, the court said that depriving a person of his personal freedom is against the constitution. Imprisonment of a person in a cheque dishonour case under the Negotiable Instruments Act amounts to deprivation of personal liberty.
A single High Court bench of Justice Md. Ashraful Kamal ruled on Sunday (August 28) after settling several cases related to cheque dishonour. The court advised the National Assembly to amend Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act and abolish the provision of jail in check dishonor cases. Apart from this, until section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act is amended, the cheque has provided a guideline for the settlement of dishonour cases.
The High Court observed in the judgment that sending a person to jail in a cheque dishonour case, keeping him in jail is against Article 32 of the Constitution and Article 11 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. As a signatory country of Bangladesh, a person cannot be sent to jail in a cheque dishonor case.
The court took the example of the developed world and said that in various countries including Singapore, France, England, and Australia, there is no provision of jailing in cheque dishonour cases. In these countries, cheque dishonour cases are considered civil in nature. The Bangladesh Negotiable Instruments Act was made quasi-criminal by the addition of the Panel Code in 1994.
The court observed that no person can be imprisoned for failure to fulfill contractual obligations or contractual obligations. If sent to jail for failure to fulfill contractual obligations, most people in Bangladesh will soon be in jail. No one wants it.
